Differences Between Manual and Automation Testing

Testing is an integral part of any successful project. In software testing, there are two main areas to complete the verification of the project. They are Manual Testing and Automated Testing.

There is a large overlap between the potentials of manual and automated testing, but neither one can completely replace the other.

Manual Software Testing

Manual Software Testing, as the name implies is executed by the person himself without the help of tool or script. It is the process of going in and running each individual program or series of tasks and comparing the results obtained as the expectations, in order to find the defects in the program.

This process can be a heavy task to select every setting within a software package. If a program has only a few options, it helps to manage the manually run through the selections and the outcomes of each selection. Unlike a robot, when developing software, going through manual testing allows you to see bugs that a real user faces.

Manual testing also gives you a lot more flexibility. By using automated tools, it is difficult to change values in the program once you started testing. When manually testing, you can quickly find out the results and it allows you to see which ideas work the best.

Manual testing is not accurate at all times, it is less reliable. Manual testing is time-consuming, taking up human resources. Investment is necessary for human resources. Manual testing is only practical when the test cases are run once or twice, and frequent repetition is not required.

Automation Software Testing

Automated software testing uses automated tools to run tests based on algorithms by comparing the developing program’s expected outcomes with the actual outcomes. If the outcomes are similar, your program is running properly and you are most likely bug-free. If the two don’t align, then you have to take another look at your code, alter it and continue to run tests until the outcomes align.

According to John Overbaugh, a senior SDET lead at Microsoft, “It only makes sense to use automated testing tools when the costs of acquiring the tool, building and maintaining the tests are less than the efficiency gained from the effort.”

Automated testing is best to use on a large project, and there are many system users. The main advantage of automated testing is its quickness and effectiveness. Once your initial test is set up, it’s an easy process to repeat tests, continuously fill out the same information and everything is done for you automatically.

The process of setting up test cases in this type of testing takes a technical mind and keeps you on your feet. It’s also applicable to the rest of the team. While using automated tests, any member of the team can automatically see the results published by the testing system. This provides us for better team combination and a better overall product.

Automated testing is more reliable, as it is performed by tools or scripts. Automated testing is executed by software tools, so it is significantly faster than the manual approach. Investment is required for testing tools. Automated testing is a practical option when the test cases are run repeatedly over a long period of time.

After knowing a few things about the manual and automation testing, it is easy to choose whether which type of testing is used in a particular situation. Testing of software can be done in both Manual and Automation methods, but it totally depends on the project requirements, budget associated with the project, and which testing method is benefited to the project.